章 61: Above the Gray Fog
Klein wore his cheap formal suit and carried his black silver-inlaid cane. He climbed up the stairs one step at a time and arrived at the entrance of the Blackthorn Security Company. His tuxedo had been damaged from yesterday's battle with Clown, so he had been sent to the cloak shop to mend it.
Klein was about to greet Rozanne when he suddenly saw Captain Dunn walkout from the partition.
"Good morning, Klein. Did you sleep well last night?" Dunn asked out of concern as Klein had personally killed someone while chasing after Ray Bieber yesterday.
Klein answered truthfully, "It's better than I imagined. I didn't have any nightmares, but when I recall it, it's still a little heavy and disgusting."
"Very good. I can rest assured now." Dunn smiled and nodded.
At this moment, Klein suddenly felt his spirituality being stirred, but he couldn't sense what it was.
Could Miss Justice or Mr. Hanged Man be praying to The Fool again?
As he thought about this, he saw that the Captain seemed to be in the mood to chat, so he took the initiative to mention:
"Captain, I want to go to the bathroom."
Dunn was taken aback before he put on his hat and nonchalantly pointed outside the door.
"Go ahead. It just so happens that I have to patrol Raphael Cemetery as well… Heh, I forgot something. Leonard and the police department had some results from their investigation of the Secret Order members. They found the carriage driver who carried them and confirmed their temporary residence in Tingen City. However, they were rather cautious and didn't leave any valuable clues behind."
"As expected of an ancient secret organization." Klein echoed with a sigh and was about to leave.
But just as Dunn reached the door, he stopped and turned his head.
"Also, the Holy Cathedral might need two to three days to reply to your application to become an official member. Heh heh, this is different from the Antigonus family's notebook. It's under the jurisdiction of different departments. The efficiency isn't the same."
"I understand," Klein replied sincerely.
After watching Dunn leave, Klein didn't dare use the company's bathroom. After all, this was the Nighthawks' headquarters. Therefore, he waited for Dunn to leave before heading straight out to the Oldville Restaurant that provided lunch for the company.
After borrowing the bathroom, he locked the door and closed the valve.
Following that, Klein took out a silver knife that he had applied for. He outlined a ball of light in his mind and entered a half-Cogitation state.
He gathered his psyche and, according to his previous practice, allowed his spirituality to spew out through the tip of the blade. He also made it move with his body and miraculously fuse with the environment, sealing the bathroom.
After putting down the knife, he took four steps counterclockwise.
The unchanging screams and murmurs assaulted him, and the constant madness and pain added to his body. He tried his best to control himself as he endured through the most difficult and dangerous stage in his dazed state.
The grayish-white fog was boundless, and the crimson "stars" were either far away or close. The lofty temple stood erect like a dead giant. Everything in front of Klein didn't change at all compared to the past. The silence and ancientness accumulated over thousands of years assaulted him.
He lowered his head to observe the red stars that belonged to Justice and The Hanged Man. Seeing that they hadn't contracted or expanded, he was momentarily puzzled.
It's not a prayer… Then what's the reason? Klein looked around and didn't find anything abnormal. He frowned and conjured a pen and paper before writing the sentence for dream divination.
"The reason why my spirituality was stirred."
In the hazy illusory dream, Klein saw the towering temple and a crimson star shimmering in the boundless gray fog.
As this scene faded, Klein left the dream.
Following that, he casually waved his hand, and the twinkling stars in the dream were pulled in front of him. According to the crimson star's ability to preserve prayers, it was similar to the ability to transmit information. Klein wanted to know who it was and what it said to trigger his spirituality.
Then he heard a set of extremely familiar words. "Hornacis… Antigonus… The Half-Fool…"
…
On the White Agate, Ebner, who had put down his fountain pen, had a strange smile on his face. He thought to himself, "Mr. Fool isn't scared, is he?"
Although this will definitely make him more vigilant, Klein's understanding of the cruelty of this world at this moment isn't that deep. He has also been deeply troubled by the matter brought about by the Antigonus family's notebook. In fact, if the plot had happened as planned last night, he would've been given a fright by the dead clown's corpse…
"That's why I only need to say some keywords from time to time without giving him an explanation. Sooner or later, he won't be able to hold back and will drag me into the gray fog."
Heh, this trick can only be used when he's still Klein. Once he becomes Sherlock, it won't be easy to fool him. If it's Gehrman, I'm afraid I'll turn into a Beyonder characteristic to participate in the Tarot Club… Alright, Gehrman isn't that cruel. He's probably influenced by Fors.
Following that, Ebner was in a good mood as he learned the Beyonder powers of the other pathways that the Eye of Pure White had long analyzed. Although he already knew that the 'analysis' came from the unknown land behind the Eye of Pure White, Ebner was still used to calling it the Eye of Pure White. Furthermore, it was also a form of concealment towards the true source of power.
Afternoon, Ebner, who had lunch, picked up his fountain pen again and casually picked up a novel to put on a show. Then, he sincerely chanted The Fool and muttered, "Antigonus… The Fourth Epoch's Angel Family… Supported the Tudor Dynasty during the War of the Four Emperors." After that, he calmly read the novel and "went offline" after putting on another act.
…
Tingen, Golden Indus Borough, Deweyville Library.
Using the introduction letter given by his university mentor, Klein successfully obtained a loan certificate.
As he flipped through the small cards in his hand, he asked the administrators,
"Do you have the Research of the Hornacis Main Peak's Ancient Ruins here? It was published by Loen Publishing."
One of the wardens immediately replied,
"Please wait a moment, I'll look for it."
He turned around and faced the drawers. He pulled open the first letter corresponding to Hornacis and followed a certain pattern to find a few cards filled with words.
After taking a closer look, he shook his head and said,
"I'm sorry, sir. We didn't collect this book."
"What a pity," Klein replied in disappointment.
At the same time, his spirituality was stirred again. It felt exactly the same as in the morning.
Again? Is he planning on annoying me to death even if he can't scare me to death? Klein lampooned inwardly, but he smiled and asked the administrator,
"May I ask how to get to the bathroom?"
The administrator was stunned for a moment, but still dutifully gave him directions.
After entering the bathroom, Klein skillfully sealed the space with his spirituality before taking four steps counterclockwise to ascend the gray fog.
Through divination, Klein knew that the source of the spirituality activation was the crimson star from before. This time, he took a deep breath and followed the method he used to spy on The Hanged Man. He spread his spirituality and touched the crimson ball.
A blurry and distorted scene appeared in front of his eyes. He could vaguely see a brown-haired youth reading a book, and in his hand was a fountain pen with complicated patterns.
The youth was dressed in a fitting Loen-styled formal suit. Although the surrounding furniture was somewhat crude, it was well matched. It looked like a carefully decorated guest room.
As the image wasn't clear, only the outline of a person could be seen. As for Ebner, he had always been wearing the Sea Breeze Hat in the Dream Maze Tower, so Klein didn't recognize that the youth was the person who had killed Tris during his dream divination.
Klein looked at the scene and listened attentively, but he awkwardly realized that the other party seemed to be talking to himself while reading. His vocabulary wasn't coherent, and he couldn't understand what he was looking at or saying.
He probably didn't mean to pray to me… However, the book he read seems to contain many secrets of the Antigonus family… This is what I want to know. It's no wonder my spirituality was stirred.
"Perhaps I should pull him into the gray fog and ask him about the details? But this doesn't conform to my principles… I don't want to go against the wishes of others and forcefully pull him into this mysterious space."
"But if that young man were to recite those words without any warning, it might attract the attention of secret organizations like the Secret Order. I should remind him…"
Klein hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to drag the youth into the gray fog to warn him. As for whether he wanted to stay behind and become a member of the gathering, it was entirely up to him.
"I summoned him as a god. Even if he doesn't want to establish a connection with me, he probably won't say anything afterward. Although it's a little risky, it's worth a try."
With this in mind, Klein reached out his right hand to touch the crimson star, but he stopped midway.
After a moment of silence, Klein let the topaz pendant hang naturally in front of him.
After the swaying subsided, he outlined the ball of light and chanted inwardly,
"Touching this crimson star will bring me danger."
Over and over again, he opened his eyes and looked at the pendulum. He saw that the topaz pendant was spinning counterclockwise.
"No, there's no danger!"
This time, Klein didn't hesitate. He extended his right hand and touched the crimson star.
The blob of dark red immediately erupted as light flowed like water.
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